The Surprising Connection Between Teen Stress and Empathy

By Susan Borison

Dr. Michele Borba, psychologist and creator of Unselfie, explains the connection between stress and empathy:

The pandemic has added to the stress that youngsters really feel. Along with no matter was inflicting them to really feel stress earlier than, now they’re apprehensive about their households and they’re additionally lacking their connections with their associates.

On the similar time, teenagers do admire the truth that this time at residence has helped them to reconnect with their households. A lot of them even have time to do issues that they weren’t capable of do earlier than like studying for pleasure.

That is additionally a essential time for teenagers to study coping expertise. Step one is to assist teenagers determine their stressors after which assist them devise methods to manage. Dad and mom can take the chance to have conversations with their youngsters throughout occasions when they’re calm.

Empathy is one technique that helps mitigate stress. There are three sorts of empathy and all are helpful:

Affective empathy is after we really feel with somebody. If our good friend is unhappy, we’re unhappy. Cognitive empathy is after we could not really feel the identical approach as another person, however we’re capable of cease and take into consideration the place the opposite individual is coming from and attempt to perceive their feelings or perspective. Compassionate empathy is after we are motivated to take motion and do one thing to assist others.

Through the pandemic, many teenagers have engaged in compassionate empathy by making empathy baggage for his or her associates and dropping them off at their homes. Others have reached out by texting to test in with associates.

In a really troublesome time, there are certainly silver linings. Our teenagers are feeling the stress, for positive, however you recognize what? They’re additionally demonstrating compassion that’s inspiring for all of us.